Remnants of Mir Space Station Splashes into the South Pacific

Remnants of Mir Space Station Splashes into the South Pacific

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Remnants of the Russian Mir space station plunged into the pre-set waters of the South Pacific at 14:00:12 (beijing time) between Australia and Chile, a zone that centers roughly around 44 degrees south latitude and 150 degrees west longitude.

"Unbelievable, Incredible Show" :
CNN Correspondent

The Russian space station Mir broke up in the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, ending its reign as the heaviest artificial object to orbit Earth.

The successful retirement of the aging outpost brought relief to Pacific Rim and island nations, which had warned residents to seek shelter should the 135-ton orbiter stray from its intended course, an uninhabited expanse between New Zealand and Chile.

Russian Mission Control had ordered Mir to begin its suicidal dive just after midnight EST, using rocket thrusters from an attached cargo ship to direct the plunge. The Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, has retired dozens of spacecraft in the area over the years.

CNN correspondent Hugh Williams in Fiji reported seeing Mir streaking across the sky in several pieces. "This is the most unbelievable, incredible show," he said

The fallout was "making a huge golden trail through the sky. We're just in awe. It's a collection of bright golden lights tearing across the sky," said Hugh Williams.

"Perhaps five large fragments fell apart into several more fragments in front of my eyes," he added. "The speed and the size of the object was amazing, like something out of a science fiction movie."

Most of the unmanned modular complex disintegrated in the atmosphere. But as many as 1,500 pieces of debris collectively weighing up to 50 tons could have survived, including pieces as heavy as a small automobile.

"Mir was proudly flying around the Earth and with dignity. It accomplished its service life and fell into the Pacific Ocean without hurting anybody," said former cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov from Mission Control in Moscow.

Hours earlier, mission controllers plotted the course of the satellite during its final orbital laps, 135 miles (217 km) above the Earth.

They powered up the station's main orientation computer for the first time in months, coaxing the spinning craft to stabilize itself. Mir was allowed to tumble through its orbit to save fuel for the atmospheric entry.

Once the crown jewel of the Soviet space program, Mir racked up an impressive number of accomplishments in the sky -- longest time in orbit for a space station, 15 years; longest time in space for a human, 438 days; and the heaviest object ever to orbit Earth, except for the moon.